Essential strategy tips for attacking and defending on Route 66.
Route 66 was the final Escort map to be added to Overwatch during the game’s closed beta, and it provides a delicious collection of vantage points and winding pathways for attacking and defending teams alike. It’s a map that demands tight team coordination and a willingness to adapt on the fly right from the very first encounter. It will certainly provide a baptism of fire for the game’s most inexperienced players.
In our Route 66 guide you’ll first of all find a collection of useful strategy tips which will help you come out on top – regardless of whether you’re trying to push the Payload or stop it dead in its tracks. After that we’ve got some advice on generally strong team compositions for this map – simple right now, but likely to evolve considerably as the metagame developes. Finally, we’ve thrown in a video embed that highlights where to find all of those life-saving health packs.
Got any tried and tested tips of your own? Let us know about them in the comments section and we’ll add them to this guide when we next come to update it. Happy hunting!
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Route 66 tips
Here are some handy tips to keep in mind whether you’re pushing or delaying the progress of the Payload.
- When you’re playing on defense here, it can be quite useful to position a Bastion or a Junkrat at the upper end of the sloping train carriage that leads from the spawn room to the mountain path. Anyone attempting to sneak up here will get obliterated quickly by either of those two characters, although Bastion in particular should be ready to move once he’s bagged a kill or two.
- On defense you have exceptional line of sight from the bridge area towards the right-hand spawn exit in particular, although you are tremendously exposed from this position. Widowmake has an easier time staying agile and alive here, but a Bastion shouldn’t be afraid to get up and slowly trudge away to a new spot once he’s bagged a kill or two.
- If you’re charging out of the main door, do look for some immediate cover as the defenses tend to be very focused around that bridge and the central highway. You might like to consider making a charge along the right-hand path to both surprise the defenders and avoid the worst of their defensive fire.
- Regardless of the side you’re fighting on, you’d do well to familiarise yourself with how all of the ramps wind around and take you back and forth to different positions. This sort of knowledge is vital for closing in on snipers or just getting back to an advantageous position. Head into a practise match and get a feel for the landscape.
- The first stage of this map provides some fantastic knockback opportunities, and you can often send an enemy Hero tumbling into the canyon below. Any character who can physically push back against their target can do well here, although a special mention must – of course- go to Lucio. He just loves to finish a fight the dirty way…
- The rooftop of the petrol station provides great cover from all angles as you attempt to prevent the Payload from making further progress. Keep moving if you’re defending up here, and attackers would do very well to pick off any forces on the rooftop from range. It’ll be very hard to survive this section if you let defenders control this position.
- Once through to the final section of Route 66, an attacking team will want to send some forward Offense scouts to pick off the threat and provide safe(r) passage for the Payload. In general this map rewards an aggressive approach to making progress, and you’ll want to continue clearing out the forward path whenever possible. You can’t ride this one passively over the finishing line…
- There are endless opportunities for a Widowmaker to wreak havoc in the final section of this map but you must a) stay agile at all times and b) ensure you have some kind of cover. There are ledges, moving platforms and balconies galore here, but you will not last long if you don’t pack up and move on after bagging a critical kill or two.
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Route 66 team comps and builds
While the highest level players do have some unusual team comps, when you’re playing with randoms you probably want two Tanks, two Support and two Offense / Defense heroes.
In the tables below you should consider the Primary hero in each categority to be the most important pick, backed up by the Secondary hero that best suits your skill level. Things are a lot more fluid when it comes to rounding off your team with Offense or Defense characters.
For more advice in this category of maps, check out our pick of the best Escort team comps and builds.
Attacking
| Hero | Role | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Reinhardt (Primary) | Tank | Reinhardt guide |
| Roadhog (Secondary) | Tank | Roadhog guide |
| D.Va (Secondary) | Tank | D.Va guide |
| Lucio (Primary) | Support | Lucio guide |
| Ana (Secondary) | Support | Ana guide |
| Mercy (Secondary) | Support | Mercy guide |
| Zenyatta (Secondary) | Support | Zenyatta guide |
| Genji (Skill Level) | Offense | Genji guide |
| McCree (Skill Level) | Offense | McCree guide |
| Reaper (Skill Level) | Offense | Reaper guide |
| Soldier: 76 (Skill Level) | Offense | Soldier: 76 guide |
Defending
| Hero | Role | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Reinhardt (Primary) | Tank | Reinhardt guide |
| Roadhog (Secondary) | Tank | Roadhog guide |
| Zarya (Secondary) | Tank | Zarya guide |
| Lucio (Primary) | Support | Lucio guide |
| Ana (Secondary) | Support | Ana guide |
| Mercy (Secondary) | Support | Mercy guide |
| Zenyatta (Secondary) | Support | Zenyatta guide |
| Junkrat (Skill Level) | Defense | Junkrat guide |
| Mei (Skill Level) | Defense | Mei guide |
| McCree (Skill Level) | Offense | McCree guide |
| Pharah (Skill Level) | Offense | Pharah guide |
Route 66 Health Pack / Medikit locations
A close one-on-one is often determined by who gets to the nearest health pack first. The video below will help you gain an understanding of where you can grab each one, big or small.
